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Sunday, August 14, 2016

Our family room

I kept putting off this post because I wanted to get more done on this space, but it's clear this is the way it's going to be for quite awhile. So, here is our lower level family room!

Whoa nelly, this has come a loooooong way. Here is the listing photo:

And here is what it looked like when we took possession:

You guys may remember previous posts about all the work we did removing the paneling, the drop ceiling, the stanky carpet, and installing the awesome can lights where there was no lighting. If not, here's a quick rundown of how it progressed:

This was the biggest renovation we've dealt with since our Russet Street kitchen. I'm so glad the bones of the room are done, because it was so stressful! Shaun removed all the paneling, the ceiling, the carpet, and trim around the windows and floor. We hired out the drywall/plywood, the electric, and a family friend installed brand new carpet over the floor tile. We were so grateful we didn't have to rip it up. The new carpet is from Home Depot and it is so soft and beautiful!

Shaun really did a great job with the board and batten, we used 3/4" thick MDF boards because I wanted a chunkier look, but also wanted to keep costs down. The baseboard is 1x4, the battens are 1x2, and the top board under the ledge is 1x3. The top ledges are all pine. Our amazing drywall guy installed quarter inch luann plywood to the lower walls for us to cover the glue and muck left from the paneling. Let me tell you, it was a real treat to prime and paint all this crap! In this next pic, you see that I have a slight dilemma over how to hide our TV cords. I'm not giving it much thought until we get a bigger television, though. Obviously, this one is way too small for this room! (That is Shaun's 'obviously,' not mine.)

When I decorated this room, I felt I needed to branch out from using the same curtains and décor that I already had. None of the curtains I had would've worked with the warm grays on the walls and floor. I also just wanted something different that still complemented the rest of our style throughout the house. I saw these curtains online at West Elm and fell in love, we all know I'm obsessed with all things aqua and teal! What sealed the deal was that a similar shade of gray to our wall color (SW Popular Gray) was also on the curtain panels.

I chose to mount the rods (these Allen and Roth ones from Lowes) on the ceiling like I did in our basement family room in Minnesota. I did this because the ledge on the wall with one window pictured above is 6 inches deep and the curtains would not hang straight if I used the bracket on the wall. I could've gotten a bit more height mounting on the wall, but I think the ceiling mount is cool and different, and I was able to make sure the curtains hung nicely in front of the deep ledge.

There in the corner, you can see my vintage buggy where I take the baby's monthly photos. It is the perfect spot, I can roll it in front of that window and take the photos without any major prep. I love easy. Here's the most recent one, he's about that age where he doesn't stay where I put him. He's also cutting his first tooth, and eating absolutely everything...yay for baby-led weaning!

Our monster sectional fits nicely down here, this is honestly Shaun's favorite spot in the house.

I found some clearance pillows and a throw in the 'Horseradish' color, and a teal hounds tooth throw at West Elm to complement the curtains and pillows I already had.

It's always a little cold down here because our HVAC system isn't set up great, so throws are very necessary! I also think it just adds so much to have some pops of color on the couch.

The shelves on either side of the couch are from CB2 and we love how they tie in the wood from the vintage dresser on the opposite wall. Our original plan to do built ins on this wall didn't pan out when we started crunching the numbers and realized we didn't have enough width to make it work. This is a nice compromise. They were super easy to assemble and attach, and the shelves were just $200 each.

It was a serious pain to install, and the frames (which are also Pottery Barn, btw) don't really fit well in the brackets and sit a little crooked all the time. Even still, it's a cool piece and the wall above the piano was the perfect spot to showcase my favorite images.

You can see here how the frames just sort of toss about in the breeze on the down rods. Maybe that is why it's no longer being made!

This area under the stairs and the nook/ledge with all the random crap on it is still a mystery to me. I envisioned having some kind of shelving on the wall and then a larger bench with storage where the trunk currently sits. We can't really fit a true mudroom near the door to the garage, but a bench with some hooks will hopefully work nicely.

That door to the garage still needs to be painted, along with the trim around it. I'm throwing around painting the doors down here a gray instead of white. Still unsure about that! For fun, here is the before shot of the door to the garage I shared a few months ago.

Ew! Let me cleanse your eyeballs with this cute pic of Zachary. He might look happy, but he really really hates being on his belly and can't figure out crawling yet. He also is deeply offended whenever I put him down and try to do something other than lovingly stare at him.

This parquet area is where the area rugs I don't know where to put are living. They don't really match anything, but it's fine for now.

And a wide view.

I can't wait to get some photos and art on the walls, the rest of the trim, doors, and stairs painted, and my nooks and crannies finished. Until then, the before and after is making us very happy!

I'll share the playroom soon, it needs a little bit of clean up before I can show it off. I hope this room was worth the really long wait, sorry it took so long!

5 comments:

It looks really good! I love the board and batten in place of the paneling.

You might think about something like this behind the tv, for cable control. You'll have to poke into the drywall once more, but it's probably worth it. (I just found a likely example, I don't know this particular brand or anything - lots more examples of similar things if you scroll through "Customers Also Bought . . .")

THAT LOOKS SO AWESOME!!!!!!! Seriously amazing before & after! And I'm super excited to see those CB2 shelves in a real space - I spec'd them out for a client's office I'm working on and he loved them, woo-hoo! Great minds think alike :)

This looks incredible (as always). I love how bright it is! Doesn't feel like a basement at all and the woodwork just takes it over and above. I love the curtains you chose - such a fun pop of color and pattern.

I love the picture of Zachary in the buggy. What a cutie. The room looks great and the The drapes are so cool. You have done a ton of work and the before and after are awesome. Can't wait to see the playroom.

About Me

My name is Sara. I am a home owner/renovator, photographer, and stay at home mom in the Chicago area trying to cram all kinds of projects into the time my son is at school. Ashford is 5, and our second baby Zach just turned 2, so things are pretty busy around here! I like slightly inappropriate humor, wine, and stalking house blogs. I love starting new DIY projects and sometimes hate finishing them. I love taking portraits of families, children and couples whenever I can. This blog is all about the projects my husband and I tackle, the projects that fizzle, and the funny things that happen to us along the way.